What's for Sunday Dinner ... Dairy free Clam Chowder

Ok, I know its starting to get warm outside in some areas of the country but for the Northwest, it's still chilly so for Sunday dinner I made my most loved recipe. Dairy free Clam Chowder. My grandmother used to go clam digging and make the best Clam Chowder according to my Dad. I played with one recipe I had to make this wonderful Clam Chowder that even die hard Dairy lovers really enjoy. My Dairy eating kids and Husband even love this recipe. I make mine with coconut milk because two of my four children have thyroid issues and cannot have much soy milk.
I serve this with a salad and a hearty wheat roll.

4 Slices of bacon (turkey or pork works)cut into small pieces
1 medium onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 Tbsp Earth balance or other Dairy free butter
4 cups diced potatoes
1 can (14 Oz) reduced sodium chicken broth
1-1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 (7 oz) cans of minced clams
5 tbsp corn starch
3 cups coconut milk or if you prefer soy milk (reserve 1/4 cup)
1 Tbsp chicken seasoning rub or for a bit of a kick use a steak rub
Parsley to garnish

Saute bacon in a large pan until semi crispy, add the butter, onion, carrots, and celery. Cook until vegetables are semi tender. Transfer bacon mixture to a soup pot. Add potatoes, chicken stock, salt, pepper and the liquid from one can of clams. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Turn the heat off. Use the 1/4 cup of milk and mix the cornstarch into it. Add the cornstarch mixture, rest of milk, clams and their liquid. Turn heat back on to low. Let it thicken some, about 3 minutes then add the seasoning.
Tip: If you like yours thicker add more cornstarch one tsp at a time.

Enjoy!

Caramel Dream

I had a dream, a fabulous dream, to make a dairy free caramel sauce to drizzle on my Caramel apple crisp and my vanilla coconut ice cream. So on my first available day I took on this task on and it turned out to be fruitful. At first I was a little skeptical, how can I make caramel sauce without Heavy cream? Then I looked in my fridge and found some left over Soy Creamer that I use in my coffee and to my joyful surprise (with many squeals of joy!) this wonderful experiment came out perfect.

So here is my recipe, Enjoy!

1- 1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of water
1- 1/4 cup of Soy creamer (unflavored)
1 tsp vanilla

In a medium sauce pan over low heat, disolve sugar and water without sitring for 6-10 minutes. Turn heat up then to medium and boil uncovered for another 6-10 minutes, this is when the sugar and water combination will turn a lovely caramel color (this is 350 degreees on the candy themometer). Stir occasionally but becareful that it does not burn as this can burn easily. Turn the heat off and mix the creamer and vanilla together. Then slowly add the creamer mixture to the sugar and water. This will boil violently so becareful not to get splattered with the boiling concoction!
Turn heat back on to low and stir constantly for 2 minutes. Then remove from heat and let sit for an hour, then put into a dish to cool further in the fridge. It will thicken as it cools. Enjoy!

A little about why I am doing this

About 2-1/2 years ago my allergist told me I may be allergic to milk.( My skin test was positive) I was in shock for 2 years along with BIG denial. I thought no way is this girl allergic to milk, but gee why was I getting sick all the time? Finally after missing yet another day of work last September I decided to go dairy free. I felt incredible! For the first time in my life I wasn't having to make mad dashes for the loo at my office or miss an outing because I wasn't feeling well. I felt free! Ok well, as free as a mother of 4 with a full time job can feel, right? I did this for a month. Then, oh boy, I decided to try lactose free milk and some cheese, because maybe I was just lactose intolerant,uh, nope. I was so sick for three days I kept a bag with me just in case, it was worse than any stomach sickness I have ever had. So at that point I finally decided to go dairy free. In this time, I discovered that I am allergic to the protein, whey. But I also discovered a whole new way of cooking, I enjoy food more and really enjoy sharing what I make with friends, family and co-workers. I am hoping that this blog will help you too. I believe it's important to share and that is my purpose here. So on my next day off, I am hoping I can post some recipes and ideas here.